Love Goes On
by kittyonnails
Summary: Kagome and Inuyasha separate after the end of their quest. Two years later, but can Kagome really move on? And who is this man with memories of her from a past life?
1. Default Chapter

Love Goes On

Inuyasha Fanfiction

By Kittyonnails

Opening Theme: _It's All Been Done _by The Barenaked Ladies

"_I knew you before the fall of Rome,_

_And I begged you to let me take you home._

_You were wrong, I was right_

_You said goodbye, I said goodnight._

_Whoo-hoo-hoo-_

_It's all been done, Whoo-hoo-hoo- It's all been done,_

_Whoo-hoo-hoo- It's all been done before…."_

Tears were rising in those big amber eyes, so dear to her. Kagome hated to see the sadness and pain in that face. She could feel tears stinging her own eyes in response. Her heart tore at her chest, begging her to answer his pleas. All that was over now, they both knew that this was the only way. Kagome almost lost her resolve as her first love and best friend kissed her lightly goodbye with trembling lips. In silence they watched each other's tears as she stepped backwards into the emptiness that would take her home, forever.

Bzzt! Bzzt! Bzzt!

Kagome was pulled into a hazy consciousness and hit the snooze. Neither awake nor asleep it was as if Inuyasha were there with her, just outside her field of vision. She was 15 again, surrounded by the truest friends she had ever known, and near Inuyasha. The illusion began to fade. Street noises floated in through the windows as easily as the sunlight of the new day. Her bed was far too soft and warm to be mistaken for anything she'd slept on in the feudal era. She rolled her slim body to one side, feeling the cool dampness of tears on her pillow. Three years later and she still cried in her sleep whenever she dreamt of him, and Kagome dreamt of him more now than she had when their lives were tied so closely together. Somehow nothing in her adult life compared to what she'd had as a young girl; sense of purpose, a life of adventure, and an innocent love.

"Inuyasha." she whispered into her pillow, squeezing out the last of the nights tears as her alarm clock called to her again. She drug her body out of the bed and pushed the blankets back into place halfheartedly. She had to get up and go to work.

"Kagome, have you seen my green shirt? I really wanted to wear it today." Her roommate popped inside her bedroom, frowning as she scanned for the missing article.

"Yanna, you are way to awake for 5:15. Besides, didn't you spill chocolate on it last time? Maybe it's at the cleaners or something." Yanna's head disappeared from view, and Kagome followed her out of the room, heading for the shower. She slid open the door to the tiny room and was not exactly surprised to see a green blouse hanging on the towel bar.

"Yanna, it's in here." She called, pointing as Yanna retrieved her top. Kagome was never sure how she felt about her roommate. They were friends, but like all her friends there was a large part of Kagome that Yanna could never know. She sighed as she stepped into the comfort of her morning shower. The steam rose around her in the cramped space. Their apartment had no bath, just a toilet, sink, and tiny standing shower. Still it was better to be here in the cheap apartment she shared with her scatterbrained roommate than at home with her memories.

Not that she had escaped them completely. Kagome remembered those amber eyes as she lathered her hair. If he could have lived in her time, she would definitely still be at her ancestral home.

"This isn't going to work, Kagome." Inuyasha looked at her from puffy eyes. Somehow he seemed to get worse every day they spent in the present. Allergy medicines helped, and if his allergy to Tokyo's pollution was the only problem, she wouldn't be feeling the way she did. He wanted to go back, she knew he did even before he had asked to talk to her.

For over almost a year, Inuyasha had been living at the Higurashi shrine and trying to get some kind of a job. Any luck he had initially was gone now, and on top of his allergic reaction to the city's pollution, the hubbub that she had grown up around set Inuyasha on edge every minute of every day. It seemed there was no way for them to make a life together in present day Tokyo, everything about the place disagreed with her already irritable lover.

They fought worse than ever most days, and she wasn't the only person he'd gotten into fights with. Several attempts at getting Inuyasha employed had ended badly, making things more strained between them. Kagome knew her family was beginning to suffer too. Her Grandfather, who had welcomed Inuyasha enthusiastically, had begun to complain about how much it cost to feed him. Her mother flinched at every curse he threw at her during their fights, and Sota didn't idolize him anymore.

Her dream of marrying Inuyasha and living together in her time seemed destined to fail. It didn't help that Inuyasha refused to use the newly whole Shikon Jewel to become a human. Part of Kagome understood that Inuyasha was finally comfortable in his own skin, no small feat for someone like him. A greater part was hurt though, hurt that he would not change for her as he would have for Kikyou.

"I know" She answered miserably, looking away from him, "but how can I leave my family?" The next thing to try was living in Kaede's village together, but Kagome was reluctant to commit to a life so far from her family. "They've supported us since the first time I went through the well, Inuyasha. We can't just throw them out of our lives." He frowned at her, a silly looking expression given his pink nose and watery eyes.

"We can still come back to see them, just like always. We just cant' live here with them" Kagome nodded, letting him take her hand in his, smiling despite her misgivings. Things had been better for everyone before Inuyasha had moved in. Perhaps a bit of distance would be for the best. Life in feudal times was hard, but not as hard as life without Inuyasha would be. Besides all that, she was sure that after a year in modern Japan Inuyasha would miss the convinces and luxuries of the future and decide to return.

"Kagome, hurry up! I use the bathroom too you know!" Yanna banged nosily at the door. Kagome shut the water off and wrapped herself in a towel. "It's all yours Yanna."

"'Bout damn time. You asleep in there or something Kagome?" her roommate rolled her eyes as Kagome pushed past her in the small doorway.

"Sorry Yanna, I gotta hurry or I'm gonna be late!" Kagome wrapped the towel around her hair and started getting dressed. Yanna's annoyed expression melted into a knowing smile.

"Yeah that's right, your turn to make the coffee and tea. Your turn to be the first girl in the office, to get the chance to flirt with the doctors. Right Kagome? Better wear the matching bra and panties!"

Kagome blushed hard, "You know it's nothing like that Yanna." Her roommate ignored her, smiling wide and enjoying Kagome's aggravated protests.

"So it's not one of the doctors? It must be a customer then. Do you know how unprofessional it is do be involved with a customer, or a patent in your case. What would your boss Dr. Ito say? I would certainly never get involved with one of my customers."

Kagome rubbed the towel roughly through her hair, trying to dry it out a bit more. "That's because you work at the makeup counter. The only male customers you might be interested in already have girlfriends or wives, that's who they're buying makeup for! Gimme a break, Yanna." She pushed past her friend, braiding her damp hair. "I need one of those clips." She pointed.

"Besides, I can worry about marrying a doctor after I am one. Right now, I'm just at Dr. Ito's for the experience. He's one of the best psychiatrist's around specializing in past life regression and therapy."

Yanna was busy molding her hair into place with a rather large can of hairspray. She smiled at Kagome through the mirror.

"I know all that, what do you think Dr. Ito was in a past live? How about one of those stick bugs? He's so scrawny!" Kagome smiled a bit.

"It's more about past lives as other people, Yanna I'm going to be a doctor just like Dr. Ito and help people sort out their memories and troubles from previous existences." Yanna Scrutinized her hairdo in the mirror and passed the hairspray to Kagome.

"You should have gotten married, you'll never meet a man with the life you live. You're so boring Kagome, you should come with me tomorrow night." Kagome set the hairspray down and smoothed her hair, sighing at Yanna. She knew Yanna meant well, but no matter how many times she turned her friend down Yanna just didn't get it.

"I can't Yanna, I'm not ready for someone new." Yanna smiled at her from the mirror. Kagome and Yanna had become friends in the accelerated high school program that Kagome had attended, since she had never made it to the tenth grade. Even the rigorous second chance high school was easy after that year of trying to finish middle school and defeat Naraku. Of course, it helped that she had waited until after Naraku's defeat to even attempt more school. Ten hours a day seven days a week for six months Kagome and Yanna had studied side by side. In those days Inuyasha had been living at the Higurashi shrine with Kagome and her family. Yanna had even met him, but she had no idea about his hanyo heritage or the real reasons he and Kagome had broken off their engagement.

"I know, I know. It's just that it's been more than two years Kagome. I'm worried for your happiness." Just then, Kagome caught sight of her watch.

"Oh! It's almost six 'o clock! Gotta run!" She called as she dashed for the doorway, pulling on her shoes and grabbing her purse. "Sorry Yanna, but I can't be late! It's my turn to make tea."

"Good Morning Dr. Ito." Kagome smiled brightly at her employer as he let himself in the small space of his offices. He smiled back at her, hanging his coat and hat on a hook just inside his private office.

"Would you like some tea?" Kagome gestured toward the tea she had just finished brewing, even though it was in another room and Dr. Ito nodded as he hung his jacket on a hook.

"That new patient is your first appointment, the one Dr. Miwa referred. Something with the courrier service got messed up and this didn't arrive until last night. Bina signed for it, but I haven't looked at it yet." Dr. Ito nodded as she handed him the large envelope that contained Ichiro Fukunaga's records. "He says that this guy's been in and out of clinic's for most of his life. He thinks it's trauma from a past life, your specialty. Mostly, he just wants you to have a look and see if his hunch is right, but if it is he'll probably pass it on to you completely."

"Hmmn." Dr. Ito frowned at the introductory letter on the front of the file. "Says here he's troubled with severe bouts of depression, paranoia and violent mood swings. Miwa thinks it can be linked to memories of things that never actually happened. That's pretty clear cut for someone who's been struggling his whole life. This guy's twenty-four, I would have expected him to be through all this by now if it really is based on trauma left from a former self."

"Maybe he doesn't realize that they aren't his own memories." Kagome suggested, as Dr. Ito continued to read the file.

Kagome left Dr. Ito's office to get him a cup of tea from the lounge down the hall. None of the various small practices were open yet, but the doctors and some of their assistants were filtering in slowly, stopping at or coming back to, the lounge for the coffee and tea that was set out there every morning. Kagome smiled at her handiwork, she really was quite the domestic. The tea bags were arranged neatly next to the thermos that held the hot water. Beside it the coffee pots steamed both regular and decaf on the hotplate. She had laid out the cream and sugars neatly next to a plate of small fruit pastries she had baked the night before. Living with a girl like Yanna gave her precious little outlet for such talents. Kagome couldn't help but think back to how hard won they were.

She was crying again, and trying so hard not to. Especially in front of Inuyasha. Paranoid as always he rushed from the doorway to her side, expecting a mortal wound or deadly disease.

"What's the matter?" He asked, sniffing the air. Immediately he wrinkled his nose, no it was neither disease nor deadly injury.

"I burnt my hands again, and the rice and everything else is ruined too." Kagome sobbed, holding out her blistered palms for him to see.

"We're going to starve or live on other's generosity all our lives, I'm so incompetent." She waved her arms in a dramatic gesture, then flinched at the pain of her scorched palms. Inuyasha frowned mildly at her, looking as miserable as he'd ever seen her.

"It'll be alright, Kagome. You don't need to be much of a cook for my tastes, and we can always catch fish for dinner. Pickles too, those turned out, right?" He was trying to be patient with her troubles as she had tried with his. Still, she resented him his comfort in the midst of her depression. At least if he'd been upset she could have gotten mad instead of feeling like a worthless child. She was a nineteen year old woman, but she felt more useless than a child.

Their little farm had cost them 24,000 yen's worth of rice, they had been able to get it so cheaply (and converted into modern yen) by purchasing the rice in her own time and using it to pay the taxes and dues needed to lease a small farm from the Hojo daimyo. Of course, it was registered in Miroku's name since there was no way in all seven hells that any daimyo would lease any part of land to a hanyo like Inuyasha or to a woman.

Everything had been fine at first, Sango, Miroku and Shippo had all helped them get the farm started and to build their house, a little two-room shanty with a dirt floor entryway and a central hearth. It was no luxury home, but it was as nice as anything any of the other villagers owned. It had been hard work, but Sango had worked hard to teach Kagome what she needed to know about weaving cloth, baskets and sandals, about growing vegetables, cooking at the hearth, and all the other things she would need to do to keep up with their new farm. It was amazing to Kagome how much more there was to do when they stayed in one place instead of wandering the countryside.

Things had fallen apart once Sango had left, along with Miroku and Shippo, on a pilgrimage to Ise. She and Miroku were planning their own futures, and wanted to gain the luck and blessings that so many traveled to Amaratsu's famous shrine for. Shippo had decide to accompany them under the pretext of protecting Sano from Miroku's wandering hands, but everyone knew he was bored with the farm work and hungry for the adventures that travel promised. Now Kagome had to do it all alone. With Inuyasha in the fields all day it was lonely and difficult.

"I am useless here, and alone. There is no one but you who knows anything about who I truly am." She could feel her tears building fast as she put her misery into words. Inuyasha smiled sadly at her.

"Truly, you are my love. Everyone knows that." She could hear the husky bit of desire in his voice as if they could live on love until she mastered cooking.

"You will get it Kagome, you've conquered greater foes than a cooking hearth." For the moment, she let herself melt to him. His uncharacteristic optimism drew her in and she could feel herself smiling.

He had been right, she had gotten the hang of cooking at that dammed hearth all day long, just so they could feed themselves. The experience made cooking at her stove and oven a joy. Nothing so delicious could have ever been concocted in that hut. Kagome pressed the valve on the thermos and filled a cup with hot water for Dr. Ito, then set one of the little pastries on a napkin and carried them both back to the little office where she worked.

Eight o' clock sharp the bell on the door chimed and Kagome looked up from her seat at the reception desk. A dark haired young man stepped inside and scanned the room, freezing as his eyes fell upon her. This, she thought to herself, must be Ichiro Fukunaga. He was looking at her like he'd just seen a ghost. Kagome smiled to try and put him at ease, he seemed awfully nervous for someone who had been in and out of psychiatric clinics his whole life.

"You're Fukunaga, here to see Dr. Ito?" she smiled wide at him and gestured to the sign-in sheet on the front of the desk. "Just put your name here-"

"Kagome." he was still starring at her, but the look in his eyes had changed from one of shock to one of confusion and hope. Something about it made Kagome uncomfortable, but it was also strangely familiar.

"Yes, Kagome." She nodded and pointed to the nameplate on her desk. Ichiro seemed to notice it for the first time and looked disappointed. He looked from it to her face as if he wasn't sure they were real. Then he signed the sheet.

"Go right in." Kagome gestured to a door left of her desk, still smiling at him. There was something about Ichiro that made Kagome both comfortable and uncomfortable all at once.

Really, she thought to herself, it's nothing. There was something in those eyes that Kagome shied away from. She smiled as she watched him disappear behind the door. Perhaps it was Kouga he reminded her of, with his endless confidence and handsome dark hair and eyes.

She wondered, if Dr. Ito was going to find that he was indeed suffering from trauma from a past life or lives. Maybe he had been someone she had known in the Sengoku period, that would explain why he seemed familiar to her, and why he had stopped short at the sight of her. Much as he reminded her of Kouga, that couldn't be it. Kouga was a demon, and as such he had no soul to reincarnate. Kagome sighed, maybe he had been Miroku, that would certainly explain his flirtatious nature. Still, that didn't sit quite right either. She was under the impression that a person strongly resembled their former self, and she knew no one who looked like Ichiro.

Kagome shrugged off the circling thoughts and went back to work. She had a lot of calls to make, getting records transferred for patients. She had just dialed the first number when a horrible tortured scream caught her. She hung up and flew at the door, God only knew what was going on inside. Kagome had never heard anything like it in her own time.

Dr. Ito was on his feet, trying to comfort Ichiro, he looked up at Kagome and she saw the concern in his face melt into a confident smile. Clearly, he wanted her to think he had everything under control.

"Dr. Miwa was right, but don't worry, he's not really hurt. It's all in memory."

Kagome nodded blankly, staring at Ichiro as he clutched at his chest. It seemed he was putting pressure on a remembered wound. He scanned the room, seeming to see things she couldn't until his eyes fell on her.

"Kagome!" He called to her, "What're you doing here?" He staggered to his feet as though injured and took a single stumbling step toward her, reaching out with one hand, as he put pressure on his remembered wound with the other.

Dr. Ito nodded to her and she did as he asked, shutting the door behind her. She went back to her desk and decided to do some data entry instead, pulling out a stack of referrals. Kagome wondered what it was like to remember a previous life so vividly. She knew of her previous existence only because she had loved the man who had loved her then, rivaled her even. There had been an energy in that room, strangely familiar. It was the same feeling she got when she was near Kikyou. As if some part of herself was standing in front of her. One thing was for certain, Ichiro Fukunaga was suffering from something that had happened to him in another lifetime.

Almost an hour and a half later, Ichiro emerged from Dr. Ito's office smiling. Kagome sighed to herself, at least the regression hadn't upset him. Sometimes patients would get very disturbed by the memories that weren't theirs.

"You know, I've always thought I was remembering for someone else. Guess I was right." He was all smiles and celebration as he sauntered up to the window in front of her desk. He leaned on it casually.

"I do hope I had a happy ending, but I doubt it. Somehow I never remember that part. Injured often enough, but no memories of dying. D'you think that's odd, Kagome?" He addressed her in a very informal manner, as if they were old buddies. She just smiled politely.

"I'm sure I wouldn't know. What does Dr. Ito say about it?"

"That if you are free tonight you should have dinner with me." Kagome's jaw dropped in surprise. She certainly hadn't seen that coming, but she recovered quickly. She was curious about him, but it would be extremely unprofessional to accept, and her curiosity would be satisfied once she sat down to discuss the case with Dr. Ito.

"I'm sorry Ichiro, but I'm not free tonight. I have classes, and Kyudo practice." He nodded, his smiled steady. Surely he expected her to reject him.

"Well, another time then." He patted her desk and waved her goodbye as he left the office.

Kagome watched him go, wondering at how he could be so cheerful after such an episode.

The bell rang on the door and she smiled as she greeted Dr. Ito's next appointment. With Ichiro gone, it was just another day at work.

Kagome hadn't lied when she had told Ichiro she was too busy for a date. She did indeed have classes and kyuudo practice that night. Kagome scolded herself for thinking of him as she dressed for her practice. Almost daily she would go to the archery range after work and school.

The practice of Kyudo was her haven. A perfect melding of her own time and the one she had left behind. In Kyudo she needn't worry about any of the complications that plagued her life; no pass or fail, no love or hate, no good or evil, no past or present, no heartbreak or regret. All that mattered were the movements, the bow, arrow, and the target.

Bullseye.

She was deadly accurate these days, but she was shooting stationary targets with simple arrows. The satisfaction wasn't there, not like it had been. Kagome squinted down the shaft of her arrow, remembering old battles and the addictive thrill of striking her opponent, defeating evil. Something inside her hungered for her old life. If only she could have it back.

Not even a return to the feudal era could give her back what she wanted. Kagome had learned that plainly enough. Now here she was trying to replace the thrill of battle with the comforts of modern life. She silently cursed herself as she loosed another arrow into the hapless target.

Bullseye.

Kagome watched him glare at her, slumped over in the grass with his legs crossed and his arms akimbo he looked like a package tied up in bright red cloth topped with that wild and silvery hair. She returned his glare, wanting to communicate her displeasure expressly. This was just another leg of the fight they couldn't seem to resolve.

"You're still unhappy." Inuyasha accused.

"Of course I am. What kind of life is this anyway?" Kagome felt the familiar anger rise. It didn't seem to matter what he did, anything could summon her temper. Patient or impatient, gentle or rough, he could not please her. They both knew it, but neither of them understood it.

"This is what you said you wanted. You said that the village was too quiet and peaceful, you wanted to live in the woods like we used to. Now, here we are, no house or farm, just us in the woods and you're still unhappy." He was angry too. It was unfair to him, Kagome knew he had been unnaturally happy on their little farm and now it sat unattended as they camped a few miles away.

"You just don't know what you want. You probably want to go to Ise with Sango and Miroku. Stupid woman, don't even know your own mind." He grumbled at her, looking to the east toward the farm rather than at her. Somehow, Kagome just didn't have the patience for his rude quips that she used to. His attitude just made her angry.

"Or is the farm too much work for you. You want to go back to your books, how'd I end up with such a lazy woman anyway?" He was drawing her out, this is how it had been ever since Miroku and Sango had left. It was just like the old days in a bitterly ironic way.

Inuyasha would sneer at her, cursing and saying hurtful things and she would rise to every challenge. Kagome knew, both from instinct and experience, that patience and gentleness were the weapons he had no defense against. She knew that fighting with him would never solve their problems, but she could not keep her peace.

Naraku was defeated, they had saved the world and this bitterly tough life of a Sengoku-period peasant was to be her reward? They paid outrageous taxes to the daimyo, Hojo Soun, ironically an ancestor of the boy who had once followed her around like a puppy. Was she wrong to think she deserved better?

There was something missing between them, she felt it as surely as she had felt shards of the Shikon Jewel. After a year of trying out various lifestyles in her own time, and another year here in the feudal era, Kagome was at a loss as to what it might be. She looked at him, forcing her anger down. It was like swallowing her own vomit. When had it become so hard to let his shit slide? She wondered.

"You're right. I can't be happy here. I'm not meant to live in this time, it seems like now that my mission is complete I should go home, to my own time." She looked away from him, staring at the various weeds and grasses growing on the forest floor. When he didn't respond immediately, she looked up. Kagome had expected another snotty remark or some cursing, but not silence. He must agree, she thought.

For some reason, Inuyasha was at his loveliest when he was peacefully sad. Kagome felt her heart soften and leap to him as she watched Inuyasha consider her words. It meant that she would leave, and he would stay. This love they had forged together was meaningless and would be abandoned. She would leave him alone, as she had found him so many years ago.

"You can't be happy with me." he didn't look at her. Kagome didn't answer.

"I love you, Kagome. I want you to be happy, but I want you to be happy with me. I don't understand what it is in that fucking present of yours that you love so damn dearly. What do you even have there? You gave up that danm school of yours years ago." He looked up at her, "What do you have there?" He shouted the question, hurt coloring his voice.

Kagome felt her anger again and let it come, splashing through her mind and coloring her vision with self-righteousness. She hated that she'd given up high school, and it seemed that she should never have done it. What had he given up for her? Not a damn thing!

"I have a family who loves me and friends and a future of doing more than scrubbing pots and floors and vegetables! What do I have here?!" She shouted, "Nothing!" she threw up her hands, gesturing angrily to the campfire and backpack; their only possessions. "And no mission, no work that does anything but feed your face and keep you warm. I want to be more than your personal serving girl, Inuyasha! I have nothing here!"

"You have me." Inuyasha replied darkly, folding his arms into his sleeves and starring at her, daring her to deny him.

Kagome felt her will cave instantly, her heart and mind were all knotted up. The last thing she wanted to do was to hurt Inuyasha, but it didn't seem she had the choice. After all that had been between them, she could not surrender her life to him. She was only nineteen, she wasn't ready to give up on adventure and settle down. Her adventure in the feudal era was over, and although she still loved Inuyasha, she knew that there were many adventures waiting for her in her own time.

The anger had drained from her and she felt hollow and weak without it. As sure as she was that she could not stay with him in the Sengoku period, Kagome could not deny her urge to wrap herself in those strong arms and cry against Inuyasha's chest. She kept to herself though, she knew he would not follow her into the future again and Kagome would not be able to cry on those strong shoulders anymore.

"It's not enough." She sobbed meekly, hiding her face in her hands.

Kagome pressed her forefinger and thumb between her eyes, rubbing up to her eyebrows. The memories were strong today. Her memories of Inuyasha seemed to push her forward and hold her back simultaneously. Her undying love for him threatened to drag her back into the feudal era with thoughts of having a family, but her desires at their parting pushed her on into her chosen future.

For now, her life was mundane, but Kagome was saving her money. She wanted to see the world and to help people too. She really admired what Dr. Ito did and getting to work with him while she attended college was like a dream come true. When she finished her degree she would be able to help people come to terms with their past selves, and the job would include lots of travel. Kagome was passionate about her chosen career, she was certain it would be a more rewarding life than she could have had with Inuyasha.

Kagome looked up at the target she had been using. She was doing well, but the onslaught of memory was taking the satisfaction out of it. Time to quit, she decided.

No regret. Kagome reminded herself as she stepped out into the chill air of the eleventh month. That was her mantra whenever she thought of how they had parted. No regret, she had made her choice and was going to go on living. She was going to do something interesting with her life, and she was going to do it in her own time. She must have been born in the twentieth century for a reason.

"Kikyou was a master archer." The solidness of the memory stopped Kagome dead in her tracks. The city bustled around her as time seemed to freeze in the cold air. It was as if she had actually heard him, like he was standing behind her. Kagome felt her heart contort inside her, confused with hope and dread. Why would Inuyasha be standing in Tokyo after years of keeping away?

"I don't remember you being so good though, Kagome." Her heart leapt back into it's beat as she realized that it wasn't Inuyasha's voice. She spun around and found Ichiro starring at her from between a knitted scarf and cap.

"What do you mean Kikyou?" she asked, feeling her cheeks tingle as a blush warmed her chilled skin. Could he really be someone from her past who remembered her poor archery?

He shrugged, "Just someone else's memories. Wish I knew." And he walked away, disappearing into the crowd of pedestrians before Kagome had the chance to ask any more questions.

Kikyou? It was just too much, she had to know what it was Ichiro saw when he was regressed. Kagome smiled at the night watchman as she showed him her employee ID.

"I was in here to make tea and coffee this morning and I forgot my plate, I just need to go and get it." It wasn't a total lie, but before her run in with Ichiro she'd intended on just getting the dish in the morning. The guard let her in though, and she shook the cold off in a shudder as she pressed the elevator button and smiled self-consciously at the night watchman.

Floor three, and she used her own keys to unlock the entrance to Dr. Ito's office. The files were stored behind her desk in a large wall of filing cabinets. With only the lights behind her desk lit, the waiting room looked strange. Kagome pulled out one drawer and found the large folder labeled, 'Fukunaga Ichiro'.

Impatient, she opened the file and began reading Dr. Ito's handwriting.

…patient has had several episodes during which he has remembered the life of a rouge during the 1500's, calling himself by the nickname **Inu-Yasha**. In one regression…

Ending Theme: _Lovers In A Dangerous Time _by The Barenaked Ladies

"_The hours grow shorter as the days go by,_

_Never get to stop and open our eyes._

_One minute you're waiting for the sky to fall,_

_And next you're dazzled by the beauty of it all._

_Lovers in a dangerous time,_

_Lovers in a dangerous time._

_These fragile bodies of touch and taste,_

_This fragrant skin this hair like lace._

_The spirit's open to a thrust of grace,_

_Never a breath you can afford to waste._

_Lovers in a dangerous time,_

_Lovers in a dangerous time…"_


	2. Part Two

Love Goes On

Inuyasha Fanfiction

By Kittyonnails

Opening Theme: _It's All Been Done _by The Barenaked Ladies

__

"I knew you before the west was won,

And I heard you say the past was much more fun.

You go your way, I'll go mine,

But I'll see you next time.

Whoo-hoo-hoo- It's all been done,

Whoo-hoo-hoo- It's all been done,

Whoo-hoo-hoo- It's all been done before…"

Kagome shuddered with pleasure and rolled her head back, exposing more of her neck to Inuyasha's kisses. He wasn't usually so gentle with her, but they both knew this would be their last night together. The next morning, Kagome was going to leave the Sengoku period forever.

Slowly, Inuyasha worked his way from one side of her neck to the other and then down. His rough hands slid inside her yukata above her breast and pulled the sleeves over her shoulders. He leaned down and licked her nipples, one then the other, like a greeting as he exposed them Eagerly, Kagome pulled her arms up out of the sleeves and laced her fingers together loosely, looping her arms over his head and pulling him to her for a kiss.

She savored the feeling of his rough haori against her bare breasts as he kissed her. Then he leaned away, trailing kisses down her shoulders in a loose path as he worked his way to her breasts. Kagome felt his hand slide down to where her sash still held the lower half of her yukata in place and intercepted it. Slowly she drew the hand to her and kissed the tip of one clawed finger, then swirled her tongue around it wetly.

Inuyasha understood her, he allowed her to guide him into a sitting position as she untied the sash at his waist. She could see his arousal even before she exposed it. With out the sash both Inuyasha's shirt and haori fell away to reveal his beautifully sculpted chest. Kagome paused for a second, drinking in the sight of him sitting before her in a pool of red and white clothing. As many times as they had made love, this would be the last.

Kagome could not help regretting that much. Inuyasha had always been a wonderful lover and sex seemed to be the only thing they were willing to give each other freely. She stroked his velvety soft shaft with her hand, gently at first and firmer as she felt his pulse. Then Kagome leaned in to him, making little circles with the tip of her tongue across the head. She felt his claws slip through her hair and the light touch set her scalp a tingle as she widened her circling, drawing him between her lips as she teased the soft dark hairs.

As Kagome pleasured him, she could feel her own body responding to his soft grunts of pleasure and her nearness to him. The scent of his body filled her as though she possessed his extraordinary senses. Inuyasha set her skin afire as he ran his fingertips from her shoulders to her elbows, then coaxed her upwards with lust in his eyes. Kagome followed his gentle guidance pliantly as he kissed her breasts and positioned her on their futon beneath him.

__

Hot, hard, wet, and silky; he filled her, pulling himself down low so that their eyes didn't meet as he held her. Kagome gasped and moaned beneath his exertion and held him tightly all through that last long night of passion.

Toei-Mita line, Sengoku station ironically. Kagome shook the sensual memories out of her head as she hurried off the train. She wasn't used to such a long ride, and had fallen into her memories yet again. The thought of Fukunaga as a reincarnation of Inuyasha was too much for her. She had hopped on the Toei-Asakusa at Kuramae and was now walking as fast as she could through the streets, clutching Ichiro Fukunaga's file to her as she scanned for his address, hoping she was still in the right banchi.

The address was a shanty of a dojo proclaiming kenpo and kendo as it's specialties, or rather, one of three even shabbier looking little apartments above it. Kagome picked her way over a bit of broken glass and climbed the rickety stairs, gripping the rusty railing as they groaned in protest. The stucco was crumbling away and she could hear the sounds of someone watching TV from the first apartment as she clicked her heels along the narrow walkway.

Fukunaga was written on the slip of paper under the peep hole, and she knocked hesitantly, wondering what she was even going to say to him. It was extremely wrong for her to even be there, she could lose her job if Dr. Ito were to find out. Still, she felt compelled to see him, to find out just what it was that he remembered, what part of Inuyasha tortured him.

The door opened, just enough for him to show his face, then wider as he recognized her in standing on the dark walkway.

"Kagome-chan." he still looked as though he wasn't sure she were real.

"Fukunaga-san, I need to talk to you." she began, but was cut off.

"Call me Ichiro. Come inside." he stepped aside and she entered a dingy one room apartment. It was only six tatami and furnished with nothing more than a desk, two cushions, and a bookshelf. A sink and mini fridge sat in the corner opposite the closet. Had it not been for the unmade futon and the magazines, papers, soda cans, and empty ramen cups strewn about liberally the lack of furnishings would have suited the small space.

"Sorry 'bout the mess. How about some tea?" Ichiro grinned at her, gesturing with the makeshift teapot in his hand that was really a coffee pot.

"Thank-you." Kagome smiled a bit as she picked her way through the mess. She found her way to one of the cushions and began trying to gather her thoughts as he approached her with two steaming cups of tea.

"So, this is for real then, you were really there." he accused as he set the tea and himself on the floor in front of her. Kagome held out the file she had brought, attempting to regain control of the conversation. Before she could speak he took it from her, setting it aside and staring her down, waiting for an answer.

"I was." she admitted, sipping her tea to calm her nerves. Suddenly she was tingling all over.

"You really are Kagome, Kikyou's reincarnation and Inuyasha's woman?" he probed again, frowning with concentration as he studied her face.

"I'm not Inuyasha's woman." she retorted, feeling her sense of equilibrium return. "And how about you? Are you saying you really remember things from Inuyasha's life? You are a reincarnation of Inuyasha?"

"Not things, Kagome, I remember all of it. I was born knowing you. I have memories of things I never did and senses I don't even possess."

"You remember everything? That's highly unusual." Kagome gave him a skeptical look to hide her embarrassment. Did he really remember _everything_?

"How else would I know that you have a scar," he reached out to her side and traced his finger over the scar on her abdomen. "right here, from a nasty centipede bite."

Even through her thick wool coat, his touch sent chills through her and she gasped involuntarily. How did he know about her scar, about Kikyou and her archery, and about Inuyasha? He must truly remember some things. She looked at him, still skeptical that he remembered more than a few bits and pieces of Inuyasha's life.

"The Shikon no Tama, borne from your side. And the subjugation beads I wore - I mean - Inuyasha wore." Ichiro added.

"You remember his whole life?" Kagome had noticed his Freudian slip. The memories were probably very confusing for him, no wonder he had issues.

"From start to finish and - I suppose - after that too." He smiled at her and Kagome wondered what he thought of her, if he really did know her as Inuyasha had. To her he was a stranger, but there was something there. The thought of him knowing everything was not as unsettling as it should have been.

"But just knowing about my scar and the Shikon no Tama doesn't prove that." Kagome tested him.

He frowned at her, and she wondered what kind of proof she should ask for. What would prove that he really did remember every one of Inuyasha's memories?

"Well, ask me something then, you'll just keep doubting what I come up with. So why don't you ask the questions." He held his hands out in a gesture of mock surrender and gave her a look that dared her to doubt him.

"What happened to the Shikon no Tama?" Kagome asked, a little annoyed at his attitude.

"You shot it with an arrow and shattered it. We hunted the shards and Naraku, battling him for control of the jewel. Eventually Inuyasha defeated him with the Tetsusaiga and the jewel returned to you for safekeeping. After you left, Inuyasha gave it to Kikyou and…" He trailed off, seeing Kagome flinch at the mention of her former self. " that was the end of it."

"Ok, so it was just us then. Me, and Inuyasha?" she asked, wondering if he remembered everyone else they had worked with on their quest. He'd answered the first question very well, and though she was starting to believe him, Kagome had a few more questions.

"No, Miroku and Sango were there, and Shippo. Anyone else you want me to mention? Kaedae, Kouga, Sesshomaru, Kirara" Ichiro pressed his fingers as an example, "How about Myoga the flea? That toady Jakken, or old Totosai?" He tried to imitate Totosai's pinched face.

"Ok, ok!" Kagome laughed. "Guess you really do have total recall. That's amazing." He grinned at her. Kagome pulled her courage together for one more question, this one she didn't know the answer to.

"What is Inuyasha doing right now? How is he?" She sipped her tea again to hide her anxiety as she waited for his answer. He frowned, sorting through the scramble of memory still clinging to his soul.

"I don't know. Really, right now he's dead and reborn- in me I think. But if you're asking what happened after you left…" Kagome nodded, though his saying that Inuyasha was dead right now had pierced her. Ichiro sighed sadly as he began.

" I stayed on that farm for a long time, thinking that you would come back. You never did though. That shell of Kikyou that wandered the land began hanging around the village once Kaedae died, and Inuyasha started skipping out on taxes, making sake and beer with the surplus instead. One night, he got drunk enough to mistake Kikyou for you and she dragged him into hell with her."

__

Ichiro looked sorry for the way things had panned out. Kagome stared at him, her heart breaking at the thought of Inuyasha drinking himself into a stupor and following Kikyou into hell. She had lived through two years of battling her memories and loneliness. She had pushed any regrets out of her mind and tried so long and hard to move on with her life, all the while expecting that Inuyasha would have done the same.

Hot tears rolled down her cheeks as she remembered sitting in her room with her books, cramming her head so full of facts and figures that she had no more room for thoughts of him. It was the same. Who knows what she would have done if she had stayed at the shrine with her memories.

"It's ok Kagome." She let him reach out and wrap his arms around her. "I know he died thinking of you, and I think that's why I remember. I'm just so glad you're real. I'd always suspected that it was a past life I remembered, but who ever heard of a past life that involved time travel? And demons, half demons anyway. You being here proves that I'm not crazy. It really happened to someone else." He was still holding her, and though his words seemed meant for his own comfort, Kagome was soothed by them.

"So Inuyasha is dead?" she squeaked, turning her tear-streaked face up to him.

"You still love him, don't you?" Ichiro loosened his hug and wiped the tears from her cheeks with his free hand. "I always thought you'd had enough." Kagome sighed and looked away.

"I had, but that doesn't mean I stopped loving him." She looked back up at Ichiro's face. Now that she thought about it, he really did look strikingly like Inuyasha - as a human. She had only seen Inuyasha that way one night a month, in the dark with long hair. Ichiro's hair was cropped short, and it was hard to think of him as Inuyasha without those eyes. Still, thinking back to Inuyasha as a human, it was uncanny.

"How long since you left?" Ichiro asked as Kagome pulled slowly out of his embrace.

"The Sengoku period? Two years."

"And you work for Dr. Ito?"

"It's a work study thing, so I can pay rent and get experience while I'm in school." He smiled at that.

"Ah, yes. Kagome and her studies. What are you studying?"

"Psychiatry. I want to be a doctor, specializing in past life regression, like Dr. Ito." Ichiro nodded, and Kagome looked around the room, wondering what it was that this reincarnation of her ex did. Was this what Inuyasha would have been like if he'd been born in her time? It was heartbreaking to think about Inuyasha. The small talk did little to sooth her. Kagome could feel the old wounds from her heart, newly opened, bleeding inside her. Inuyasha was dead, she had to get her mind around the idea, but all that would come were tears. They welled up anew and rolled down her cheeks despite Kagome's best efforts to hold them in.

"Kagome." Ichiro reached to console her again, concern painting his face.

__

"No, I'm sorry. I…I can't." Kagome stood and smeared the tears across her cheek. The atmosphere was too heady. Her emotions were out of control, and this confused man didn't need her to lose it. Kagome could feel how her soul was drawn to his, and wasn't prepared to deal with anything else right now. "It's just too much. I need to go home and think this over."

Ichiro nodded, standing up and taking the teacups to the sink before escorting her the few feet to the door.

"Can I call you tomorrow then?" Kagome could see the hope shining in his eyes, and realized that she did not want it to end here. She nodded, writing her number on the scrap of paper he offered.

"Kagome? What're you doing home so late? I just got in myself." Yanna peered out of her room at Kagome as she trudged in.

"Oh, Yanna!" Kagome reached for her friend as her tears gathered again. "Inuyasha is dead!"

"What? Kagome, what happened? He was so strong and healthy!" Yanna asked in surprise as she consoled her friend.

"He was drinking, a lot I guess." Kagome sniffed as she leaned back to tell the story, " And then Kikyou showed up."

"His ex before you?" Yanna exclaimed at the scandal.

"Yea, and she-" Kagome interrupted herself with a sob. "They died together, like she always wanted."

"Oh, Kagome! Yanna embraced her again, "I know you and he hadn't spoken for years, but still, that's awful!" Kagome sobbed into her friend's shoulder, aware that Yanna knew full well that she was not over Inuyasha. She appreciated the gentle words though. The last thing Kagome felt like hearing was how much she had loved him despite their breakup. Yanna was a good friend though, and she just let Kagome cry.

It was liberating in a way, to cry for Inuyasha. Kagome had loosed countless tears over their separation, but the idea of his death was so much more permanent. Inuyasha, at least as she had known him, was no more. As much time as Kagome had spent trying to forget and let go, she finally felt her burden lifting a little. Inuyasha was gone. There was nothing she could do anymore but move on.

"There's more." Kagome added once her tears had run out. Yanna looked surprised, but waited for her to continue.

"I think I met someone." Yanna's eyes bugged open comically in disbelief.

"Who?" she asked dumbly.

"His name is Ichiro Fukunaga. He's the one who told me about Inuyasha's death."

Yanna looked skeptical.

"I dunno Kagome, even if Inuyasha is dead I don't think it's a good idea to get in with that crowd again. Is this Fukunaga guy from that same little town as Inuyasha?"

Kagome smiled, although Yanna had known Inuyasha during his time in the present, she knew nothing of their quest in the Sengoku period. When Kagome had followed Inuyasha into the past, she had told Yanna that she was going to live with him far away in his hometown.

"No, Ichiro is a Tokyo native, just like me."

"So he won't try to drag you away the way Inuyasha did?"

"No. I won't have to go there for him." Yanna had unwittingly hit the heart of the issue. Kagome would be able to have a normal 21st century relationship with Ichiro the way she and Inuyasha never could.

"You wanna bring him to the club tomorrow night to show off? Everyone is there on Saturdays." Yanna shrugged. Clearly, she doubted that Kagome was ready for someone new after her crying fit at the news of her ex's death.

"yeah." Kagome answered thoughtfully. "We'll meet you there."

"Hey, Kagome! Long time no see. What'd you say to a dance?" Hojo grinned a her over the rim of his glass of beer. Kagome smiled. Even though she'd dropped out of school, she had maintained contact with the same group of friends from her old school.

"Sure." she grinned, letting him lead her out onto the dance floor. Nervously, she checked over her shoulder to see if she'd upset Ichiro. No, he was still sitting at the table talking with some of her other friends. There was no sign that he had even noticed her absence. Very unlike Inuyasha. She thought, but maybe he would be upset once he noticed. No sense in worrying about that now. She smiled at Hojo, he was really an awful dancer.

The song finished and Hojo led her back toward the table.

"So, this Ichiro is your boyfriend?" He asked nonchalantly. Kagome knew him better than that. He was not about to miss another opportunity with her if she and Ichiro weren't dating yet.

"I hope so." she told him, smiling conspiratorially. Hojo nodded graciously, still smiling even in defeat, as they approached Eri.

"Kagome, he's cute!" Eri intercepted them and pulled her away from Hojo. "But I thought you only went for guys with tiger's eyes." She teased.

"I think I'll leave the tiger's eyes for you, Eri." Kagome smiled, ignoring the reference to Inuyasha and walking back to the table.

"Do you need a rest or is it my turn now?" Ichiro grinned up at her from his seat.

"Let's go!" Kagome was astonished that he wanted to dance. This guy really wasn't a carbon copy of Inuyasha.

Around midnight Kagome was starting to feel a bit warm. Ichiro leaned over and whispered in her ear.

"You wanna cut out early?" And she nodded. It had been a long time since Kagome had gone out with her friends and they were drinking her under the table quickly. She watched him make the apologies and pay the tab, then followed him out the door, waving goodbye to her friends. Yanna smiled and gave her two pronounced thumbs-up's that made Kagome blush even deeper than the beer had.

"Do you want to go home?" Ichiro asked once they were in the comparative silence of the street. "Cuz I could give you a tour of my dojo if you're up to it." Kagome looked at him quizzically.

"You've gotta dojo? Then what's with the crappy apartment?" He laughed at her.

"I don't own it, I just work and study there. It's not my property or anything like that. The apartment is one of three provided for full time students. It's free so long as I teach the younger kids' lessons and it's better than being in my parent's house."

"So you're a martial artist?" Kagome looked up at him with an alcohol-enhanced awe. "Lead the way!"

By the time the train reached Sengoku station, Kagome was beginning to sober up. The walk to Ichiro's dojo in the cold seemed to finish the job. It was past midnight and she now could feel that the clear night was extremely cold. It didn't seem to bother Ichiro though, he set a quick pace as they strode along the deserted streets, puffs of breath rising like smoke.

"And here we are!" He announced, pulling his keys out of his pocket and unlocking the door to the dilapidated building. He threw on the lights and held the door for her.

The interior was decidedly old fashioned, but the inside of the dojo was in much better shape than the outside. Kagome looked around the room curiously. She'd only ever been in the dojo where she practiced her kyudo. The wood floors looked as if they would shine like mirrors when polished properly, and the room was tastefully sparse. Only a high alter shelf on one wall, and a few examples of calligraphy. By the engawa, a shelf for shoes.

Ichiro helped her into a pair of slippers and sat her on a cushion he'd retrieved from the adjacent room. Then he began demonstrating a series of Kata for her, explaining things as he moved gracefully through the air. It was lovely to watch, like dancing. Kagome tried to keep her eyes open as the alcohol loosed it's final effects on her.

The smooth lines of his muscular body were familiar to her, and Kagome found herself picturing his dance in the nude. It had been so long since she had felt hunger for a man, and never before for anyone but Inuyasha. He looked powerful as he slipped from one pose to the next in fluid motion. Somewhere he had stopped talking, and the only sounds were the soft thump of his feet on the floor and his breath, hastened with exertion.

Kagome stood and took a few slow steps towards him, she could feel the heat radiating off of his skin. It was beyond reason to give in to her lust, but she knew it would be futile to try and hold it in.

Ichiro slowed his movements, whirling around her gracefully and holding her in his arms. If he had planned this, Kagome didn't care. He looked into her eyes for a moment, then leaned in and kissed her. Kagome kissed him back with all her heart. Nothing, it seemed, had ever felt so right.

Slowly, she melted into the floor and reveled in his kisses as he undressed them both. Kagome explored his body hungrily and was glad to find it strangely familiar. He licked her nipples just the way Inuyasha once had.

Kagome could feel her desire flare as he traced his un-clawed fingers over her stomach. She had to have him, her body was crying for him, now! He reached down, testing her with a finger and she cried out in pleasure.

Ichiro answered her cries by sliding himself inside her. Kagome grasped onto his shoulders as the waves of sensation crashed through her body, building as he continued.

Kagome could feel her own climax closing in around her when he came, pressing against her hot, hard, and damp. It was more than enough to drive her over the edge, she cried out, screaming.

"Inu-Yasha!"

Kagome frowned at the light coming in through the window. Her mouth seemed to be lined with tissue paper and she could not manage enough saliva to relieve the sensation. She sat up groggily as she rubbed the crust from her eyes, looking around the room.

This was not right. She was not in her own bed, but in Ichiro's futon. She could hear a soft snoring, and found Ichiro sleeping peacefully beside her. She fought the urge to go back to sleep as she climbed out of the blankets. At least she was still clothed. Only her jacket and shoes were missing.

Kagome's face flushed as the memories seeped back into her clouded mind. Last night, she and Ichiro, kata's and sex. She must have fallen asleep soon after. Kagome did not remember how they got up here, or how her clothes got back on her body.

Tea. Kagome needed a cup of tea badly. She found the coffee pot Ichiro had used two days ago and set it on the burner with a liberal scoop of tea leaves. She needed strong tea this morning.

Ichiro was beginning to wake up. She turned from watching the water boil to see him smiling up at her from his futon.

"Morning." He yawned. "I've got some rice crackers if you want breakfast, but that's about it. I planned on shopping later on, while everyone was at the Setsubun festivals.

Setsubun. Kagome's puffy eyes flew wide open.

"Oh danm! What time is it?" She spun around the room, looking for a clock.

"nine-fifteen." Ichiro began to climb out of the blankets. "What's the matter?"

"I'm supposed to be at the shrine to help out in fifteen minutes! Yayoi Ogawa is throwing the beans!"

Ichiro reached into the cabinet over the sink and pulled out a plastic travel mug and a strainer.

"Give your mom a call and let her know you're running late." He advised as he poured the tea into the mug.

Kagome nodded and dialed the shrine, rushing out the door as soon as she was off the phone.

By seven o' clock things were winding down at Higurashi shrine. The Setsubun crowds had come and gone, leaving only a few lingering worshipers and a liberal scattering of soybeans. Kagome yawned as she swept the stone walkway from the gate to the shop.

"Oni wa Soto, Fuku wa Uchi!" chanted a familiar voice, and a lone soybean bounced off the back of her head. Kagome turned to see Ichiro smiling at her.

"Oni wa Soto yourself!" she laughed. "If anyone here's an oni, it's you."

He shook his head, "Not this lifetime, and besides, there's a big difference between a simple oni and a youkai, even a half-youkai."

"Oni wa Soto, Fuku wa Uchi!" Kagome threw a handful of beans at him anyway and laughed as he scooped some up, chased after her, and caught her beneath that fateful tree. Their laughter trailed off as they lay in the dead grass, staring up at the bare boughs.

"I think it was meant to be like this, Kagome." Ichiro said solemnly as he watched the clouds float by above the branches.

"Even if you had never gone to the Sengoku period, I think we would have found each other." Kagome scooted across the frozen ground and leaned her head on Ichiro's chest, following his gaze up the trunk of the old god-tree and into the heavens. Silently they remembered their souls meeting there in the distant past.

"Kagome?" Sota's confused exclamation stiffened her and she looked over to see her brother holding the broom she had been using, raising an eyebrow at finding his sister lying in the grass with an unknown man.

"Uhh, hi Sota." Kagome answered dumbly as she sat up. "This is Ichiro Fukunaga." Ichiro sat up too, attempting a polite bow and then opting to wave 'hello' instead.

"So, Is he your boyfriend or something?" Sota wrinkled his nose. Her brother had always liked Inuyasha and although he seemed to accept their breakup, he preferred for Kagome not to see anyone else either, like a big brother. Actually, Sota was the bigger of the two anymore. He towered over Kagome by at least three inches, not as tall as Ichiro or Inuyasha, but still a respectable height.

"Or something." Kagome attempted to brush her brother off as she stood up. "What're you doing here anyway?"

"Mom wants to eat the roasted beans now. Guess you'd better bring your boyfriend. Mom's going to want to meet him." Sota shrugged as he turned back toward the house.

Kagome grimaced at Ichiro, but he smiled.

"Sounds fun. Your family is nice, and it's been forever since I've eaten roasted soybeans for good luck." He gestured for Kagome to lead the way.

"Twenty-Four!" Mrs. Higurashi cheered as Ichiro tossed the last bean into his mouth. "Now it's your turn Grampa!" Everyone laughed as Grandpa frowned at the sparse scattering of soybeans left on the floor after everyone else had eaten their age.

"No way! There's not enough left. It's bad luck if I don't finish so I'm not going to start. Besides, I can't eat that much!" He folded his arms resolutely.

"ok, ok." Mrs. Higurashi swept the remaining beans off the floor, she beamed at Ichiro.

"So, what is it that you do Fukunaga?" He waived his hands at her.

"Please, Ichiro. Anyway, I'm an advanced student at the Tanuki-Hachi dojo."

"Tanuki-Hachi you say?" The name had piqued Grandpa's interest. "Isn't that place of some historical significance?"

"Well, the school is very old, but the building we're in now was built in the 1950's. The original burned in the bombing raids of Tokyo." Grandpa nodded, getting ready to delve into one of his many stories.

"I'm sorry, but I've got to get going." Kagome stood up from the circle. "I've got a lot of studying to do before tomorrow." Ichiro stood too, getting the hint.

"I'll walk with you to the station." he offered.

They walked in silence until they had left the shrine. Kagome was still wearing the sweater and skirt she had worn the night before, but Ichiro had changed.

"I'm sorry about last night." Kagome watched her feet as they walked.

"It's ok. Better him than anyone else." Ichiro smiled sadly and reached out a comforting arm to Kagome. She brushed it off and stopped walking.

"It's not ok. You and Inuyasha are two different people. Sharing a soul doesn't make you clones." Ichiro drooped visibly at her words and nodded.

"I know it doesn't, but sometimes I wish it did. Inuyasha was a spectacular hero who had your love, still does. There's nothing in my life that can compare to anything in his. It's easy for you, you're a million times better than Kikyou. What am I? Just a sad little man haunted by memories that aren't' even his."

"That's not true Ichiro. You are a wonderful person, and you have a soul brave enough to face many things much worse than anonymity. It's not fair to you if I stay with you though. After last night, and today, I realize that it's Inuyasha that I'm in love with. Not his soul in whatever form it may take, just him. Life here is nice, but a life without Inuyasha is not what I want."

"But Inuyasha died." Ichiro frowned, rubbing his forehead as if the idea was difficult to grasp.

"He lived several years before succumbing to Kikyou, right? I can still get to him if I go now, I know it. I have to go to him, I can't let him die like that. You have to understand Ichiro. I do love you, but not the way I love Inuyasha. I'd say I was a fool for leaving him, but I think I've learned things about myself that I would never have otherwise. I know in my heart that this is how it should be, me with Inuyasha."

Ichiro blinked as though a revelation had just struck him, he looked at Kagome like he was surprised to see her there.

"Then go to him, be with him, love him and stay with him. Do all this and I may have the chance to forget him, and you. I think you're right Kagome, this is for the best."

Kagome reached up and kissed him, long and soft, before whispering in his human ear.

"thank-you"

Ending Theme: _Lovers In A Dangerous Time _by The Barenaked Ladies

__

"When you're lovers in a dangerous time,

Sometimes you're made to feel as if your love's a crime.

Nothing worth having comes without some kind of fight.

Gotta kick at the darkness till it bleeds daylight.

Lovers in a dangerous time,

Lovers in a dangerous time,

Lovers in a dangerous time,

Lovers in a dangerous time.

We were lovers in a dangerous time.

We were lovers in a dangerous time

La-la -lovers, La-la-lovers, La-la-lovers,

Ha-a-a-a-o-o-o

Lovers in a dangerous time."

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A/N: I know some people are going to say that they liked the idea of Kagome and Ichiro, but tough luck on that one. The point is that just as Inuyasha loves Kagome more than Kikyou, Kagome loves Inuyasha more than Ichiro. Had Kagome and Inuyasha never met, they would have still been together. Just as their souls are destined to meet again further in the future. What a silly happy ending!


End file.
